Young Collectors Auction - exhibit-E

MouneerAL SHAARANI1952Lot 054'Everything Is a Part of Something' Signed70 X 70 cm. Calligraphy Gouache on PaperEstimate (US$ 3,000 - 4,000)Born in Salamiyah, Syria in 1952, Mouneer Al Shaarani developed his craft at a remarkablyyoung age. Studying under the premier Syrian calligrapher Badawi al Dirani while he wasjust a boy, he spent his formative years honing his artistic skills and later began hisprofessional artistic career in 1968. Al Shaarani then went on to graduate from the Facultyof Fine Arts in Damascus in 1977.Mastering the art of calligraphy over several decades, he fashioned a style that is recognizedfor its contemporary innovations and its ushering in a new era of this timeless tradition.As a prominent calligrapher he is respected not only for his artistic contributions to Syrianart, but also for a series of tutorial booklets on six kinds of calligraphy that have beenutilized by subsequent generations of scholars and students. With an exhibition historythat virtually spans his lifetime, he has been featured in such international institutions asthe British Museum and the Malaysian Museum for Islamic Arts. A consummate graphicdesigner, his Arabic typography has appeared in everything from publications to corporatebranding. Heavily involved in the Arab art scene, he has also frequently taken on the role ofcritic, publishing a number of articles on Arab and Islamic art while working as a historianof calligraphy. Although having lived outside of his native country for long stretches of hiscareer, he has recently returned to Syria.